Page 18 of Embers in the Dark

I try to keep my breathing calm because my blood is still rushing through my ears. What happened here tonight?

I finally go back toward the room that was last hers. When I push the door open, I find her in a corner, her knees pressed up into her chest, her hair a mess, and her arms hugging her legs into herself. Her mascara is running down her face as if she’s been crying for hours.

What. The. Actual. Fuck?

“Baylee?”Who did this to my girl?

“I didn’t know who else to call.”

I run to her and crouch in front of her. I push her hair away from her tear-streaked face.

“Baylee, tell me what happened?” I try to suppress the anger I feel creeping up my spine.

She looks too fragile right now as I run my hand through her hair. She closes her eyes and leans into my palm and all I want to do is pull her into me and take away her pain. The more I take her in, the more questions keep piling up in my head.

“I’ve never seen him like that before,” she says, as if she’s talking to herself, almost like I’m not sitting in front of her.

“Baylee, baby, look at me.” I try to get her eyes to fullyfocus on me. It’s then I see her fingers trembling as she moves them along her shins. “Tell me what happened.”

“Myles—I broke up with him. He… he got so mad.” Tears well in her eyes and I cup her cheeks in my palms hoping she feels safe enough around me to tell me what happened here tonight.

“I shouldn’t have pushed him, but I didn’t know he would get so angry.” A sob breaks loose.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I tell her as I watch the tears slowly fall down her cheeks.

“I told him it was over at the restaurant. I thought I could walk away, but he came after me. He forced his way in here,” she says, and it takes everything in me not to stand up and go after this fucker. I want to kill him with my bare hands.

I’m not a violent person, but this sorry excuse for a man made Baylee feel unsafe when all she wanted was to break things off. He’s a coward. I take a deep breath and let her continue.

“I’ve never seen him so furious before. Then he grabbed my arm. At first I thought that was as far as he’d go. But then he wouldn’t let go, even when I told him it hurt. He pulled me further into the apartment and pushed me into the wall. It was so hard, Tucker. He’s never done that before. But I was so stupid.” She starts to sob as I pull her into me, and she balls her fists into my chest.

I rub her back until I feel her calm down. I kiss the top of her head and soon she regulates her breathing, pulling away from me and continuing.

“The way he spoke to me, telling me he wasn’t going to let me go so easily. He was just saying such hateful things, I couldn’t let someone talk to me like that. So instead of taking it, I pushed back and told him to pretty much fuck off. It was the wrong thing to say and he punched me in the stomach.” Right then she brings her hands to her face and cries harder.

I knew something was off about this guy she was dating,but never in a million years did I expect this confession. It’s taking everything in me to school my expression. If I allowed myself to truly show her how I’m feeling on the inside, my face would be murderous. But she’s seen enough tonight.

I slowly pull her hands away from her face, but she forces her gaze downward.

“Baylee, look at me,” I tell her.

She shakes her head, embarrassed to let me see her.

“Baylee, please let me see you,” I plead.

“I can’t. I’m too embarrassed. I can’t believe I let things get this bad,” she says, still shielding herself from letting me see her face.

“Bay, you called me and I’m here to help. Please, look at me,” I say, keeping my voice calm.

She finally looks up at me and those deep, dark eyes meet mine. Even with her mascara marring her cheeks, she’s still the most beautiful person I’ve ever laid eyes on. And all I want to do is make her feel better.

“I’m sorry, Tucker. I’m sorry for calling you all the way over here,” she says.

“Don’t ever apologize to me for that. I’ll always be here when you need me,” I tell her. “I need to take a look at where he hit you. Can you show me? Are you comfortable showing me?”

“Mmhm,” she mumbles and nods.

I slowly get up and reach my hand out for her to take hold. I help her up. Once standing, she pulls her dress up and I can already see the bruise forming on her abdomen. The dress has no sleeves so I can see the mark from where he grabbed her upper arm and some bruising along the shoulder from where it connected to the wall. There’s no blood on her head where she hit the wall, but they’ll do a more thorough assessment at the hospital.

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